Bill Text: GA HB509 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: State Medical Education Board; abolish
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-07-01 - Effective Date [HB509 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2011-HB509-Comm_Sub.html
11 HB
509/CSFA
House
Bill 509 (COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE) (AM)
By:
Representatives Huckaby of the
113th,
Carter of the
175th,
and Collins of the
27th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
abolish the State Medical Education Board and provide that the Georgia Board for
Physician Workforce shall succeed to the powers, rights, and duties of said
abolished board; to amend Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 of the Official
Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to scholarships, loans, and grants, so as to
change certain provisions relating to medical scholarships; to amend Chapter 34
of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to physicians
for rural areas assistance, so as to change certain provisions relating to the
purpose and intent of said chapter; to change certain provisions relating to
administration of said chapter by the State Medical Education Board; to change
certain provisions relating to service cancelable loans, repayment, and
determination of physician underserved rural areas; to amend Code Section
45-7-21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to expense allowance
and travel cost reimbursement for members of certain boards and commissions, so
as to eliminate a reference to the State Medical Education Board; to amend Code
Section 48-7-161 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
definitions relative to setoff debt collection for the state, so as to provide
that the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce shall be the claimant agency with
respect to certain debt; to amend Chapter 10 of Title 49 of the Official Code of
Georgia Annotated, relating to the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce, so as
to change certain provisions relating to creation and composition of said board,
expense allowances, staffing, and advisory committees; to change certain
provisions relating to purpose of said board; to change certain provisions
relating to powers, duties, and responsibilities of said board; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to scholarships, loans, and grants, is amended by revising Part 6, relating to
medical scholarships, as follows:
"Part
6
20-3-510.
(a)
The State Medical Education Board is created which shall consist of seven
members appointed by the Governor who shall be qualified electors of the State
of Georgia. The State Medical Education Board created by this Code section
shall be the successor to and a continuation of the heretofore existing State
Medical Education Board. The members of the State Medical Education Board in
office on July 1, 1983, shall serve out the remainder of their respective terms.
The Governor shall appoint two additional members to take office on July 1,
1983, for terms expiring on April 1, 1987. Thereafter, as the term of office of
each member expires, the Governor shall appoint their successors for a term of
four years and until their successors are appointed and qualified. Vacancies
shall be filled by appointment by the Governor for the unexpired
term.
(b)
The State Medical Education Board shall elect annually a chairman and also a
vice-chairman to serve in the absence or inability of the chairman. The State
Medical Education Board shall maintain an office in Atlanta, Georgia, and shall
meet at said office or elsewhere at least once each year at such time as may be
fixed by the State Medical Education Board. Special meetings shall be held upon
call of the chairman. Four members of the State Medical Education Board shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and the State Medical
Education Board shall keep full, complete, and permanent minutes and records of
all its proceedings and actions.
(c)
For attending meetings of the State Medical Education Board and for traveling in
carrying out their official duties, the members of the State Medical Education
Board shall receive the compensation and allowances specified by Code Section
45-7-21.
As used in
this part, the term 'board' means the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce
created by Code Section 49-10-1.
20-3-511.
With
the concurrence of the State Medical Education Board, the Department of
Community Health shall employ and provide for the compensation of such
administrative staff, including but not limited to an executive director, as is
necessary to carry out the functions of the State Medical Education
Board.
(a)
In addition to those powers, rights, and duties provided by Chapter 10 of Title
49, Chapter 34 of Title 31, and elsewhere by law, the board shall succeed to the
powers, rights, and duties of the former State Medical Education Board as
provided by this part.
(b)
The rights and obligations of parties to contracts, leases, agreements, and
other transactions entered into before July 1, 2011, by the former State Medical
Education Board shall continue to exist; and none of such rights and obligations
shall be impaired or diminished by reason of the transfer of the functions to
the board. In all such instances, the board shall be substituted for the former
State Medical Education Board, and the board shall succeed to the rights and
obligations under such contracts, leases, agreements, and other
transactions.
(c)
The board shall succeed to all rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and
administrative orders of the State Medical Education Board that were in effect
on June 30, 2011, or scheduled to go into effect on or after July 1, 2011, and
which relate to the functions transferred to the board pursuant to this part.
Such rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders shall
remain in effect unless and until amended, repealed, superseded, or nullified by
the board by proper authority or as otherwise provided by law.
20-3-512.
(a)
It shall be the duty of the
State
Medical Education Board
board
to receive and pass upon, allow or disallow all applications for loans made to
or scholarships given students who are bona fide citizens and residents of the
State of Georgia and who desire to become doctors of medicine and who are
acceptable for enrollment in an accredited four-year medical school in the
United States which has received accreditation or provisional accreditation by
the Liaison Committee on Medical Education of the American Medical Association
or the Bureau of Professional Education of the American Osteopathic Association
for a program in medical education designed to qualify the graduate for
licensure by the Georgia Composite Medical Board. The purpose of such loans
shall be to enable such applicants to obtain a standard four-year medical
education which will qualify them to become licensed to practice medicine in the
State of Georgia. It shall be the duty of the
State
Medical Education Board
board
to make a careful and full investigation of the ability, character, and
qualifications of each applicant and determine the applicant's fitness to become
the recipient of such loan or scholarship, and for that purpose the
State
Medical Education Board
board
may propound such examination to each applicant which it deems proper. The
said State
Medical Education Board
board
may also prescribe such rules and regulations as it deems necessary and proper
to carry out the purpose and intention of this part. The investigation of the
applicant shall include an investigation of the ability of the applicant, and of
the parents of such applicant, to pay his or her own tuition at such medical
school, and the
State
Medical Education Board
board
in granting such loans and scholarships shall give preference to qualified
applicants who, and whose parents, are unable to pay the applicant's tuition at
such a medical school.
(b)
The State
Medical Education Board
board
shall have authority to grant to each applicant deemed by the
State
Medical Education Board
board
to be qualified to receive the same a loan or scholarship on a one-year
renewable basis for the purpose of acquiring a standard four-year medical
education, upon such terms and conditions as in the judgment of the
State
Medical Education Board
board
may be necessary or desirable. The
State
Medical Education Board
board
is authorized to consider, among other criteria, the home area of the student
and the likelihood, if determinable, that the student will practice medicine in
an area of this state which may entitle the student to repay the loan through
services rendered as provided in this part.
20-3-513.
Students
whose applications are approved shall receive a loan or scholarship in an amount
to be determined by the
State
Medical Education Board
board
to defray the tuition and other expenses of the applicant in an accredited
four-year medical school in the United States which has received accreditation
or provisional accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education of
the American Medical Association or the Bureau of Professional Education of the
American Osteopathic Association for a program in medical education designed to
qualify the graduate for licensure by the Georgia Composite Medical Board. The
loans and scholarships shall be paid in such manner as the
State
Medical Education Board
Georgia Board
for Physician Workforce shall determine
and may be prorated so as to pay to the medical college or school to which any
applicant is admitted such funds as are required by that college or school with
the balance being paid directly to the applicant; all of which shall be under
such terms and conditions as may be provided under rules and regulations of the
State
Medical Education Board
board.
The loans or scholarships to be granted to each applicant shall be based upon
the condition that the full amount of the loans or scholarships shall be repaid
to the State of Georgia in services to be rendered by the applicant by
practicing his or her profession in a
State
Medical Education Board
board
approved rural county in Georgia of 35,000 population or less according to the
United States decennial census of 1990 or any future such census or at any
hospital or facility operated by or under the jurisdiction of the Department of
Community
Health,
or
the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental
Disabilities,
or at any
facility operated by or under the jurisdiction
of the Department of
Corrections,
or at any
facility operated by or under the jurisdiction
of the Department of Juvenile Justice.
For each year of practicing his or her profession in such
State
Medical Education Board
board
approved location, the applicant shall receive credit for the amount of the
scholarship received during any one year in medical school, with the interest
due on such amount.
20-3-514.
(a)
Each applicant before being granted a loan or scholarship shall enter into a
contract with the State of Georgia agreeing to the terms and conditions upon
which the loan or scholarship is granted,
which
contract shall include
including
such terms and provisions as will carry out the full purpose and intent of this
part. The form of such contract shall be prepared and approved by the Attorney
General, and each contract shall be signed by the
chairman
chairperson
of the
State
Medical Education Board
board,
countersigned by the executive director of the
State
Medical Education Board
board,
and shall be signed by the applicant. For the purposes of this part the
disabilities of minority of all applicants granted loans or scholarships
pursuant to this part are removed, and the said applicants are declared to be of
full lawful age for the purpose of entering into the contract provided for in
this Code
section;
and such contract so executed by an applicant is declared to be a valid and
binding contract the same as though the said applicant were of the full age of
majority. The
State
Medical Education Board
board
is vested with full and complete authority to bring an action in its own name
against any applicant for any balance due the
State
Medical Education Board
board
on any such contract.
(b)
An applicant who has entered into a loan or scholarship contract with the
State
Medical Education Board
board
and who:
(1)
Is dismissed for either academic or disciplinary reasons from the college or
school of medicine he
or
she is attending; or
(2)
Voluntarily terminates his
or
her training and education in that
institution for any reason prior to completion of training
shall
be immediately liable to the
State
Medical Education Board
board
for all sums advanced with interest at the minimum rate of 12 percent per annum
from the date of each payment by the
State
Medical Education Board
board
and compounded annually to the date the scholarship or loan is paid in full.
The State
Medical Education Board
board
is authorized to increase annually said rate of interest due on loans granted to
new recipients; provided, however, that the increased rate of interest shall not
exceed by more than 2 percent the prime rate published by the Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System and in effect at the time of the
increase.
(c)
An applicant who has entered into a loan or scholarship contract with the
State
Medical Education Board
board
and who breaches that contract by either failing to begin or failing to complete
his or
her service obligation under such loan or
scholarship contract shall be immediately liable to the
State
Medical Education Board
board
for three times the total uncredited amount of all such scholarship or loan
payments paid to the applicant, such uncredited sums to be prorated on a monthly
basis respecting the applicant's actual service and total service obligation.
The State
Medical Education Board
board
may consent or agree to a lesser measure of damages for compelling
reasons.
(d)
The State
Medical Education Board
board
shall have the authority to cancel the loan or scholarship contract of any
applicant at any time for any cause deemed sufficient by the
State
Medical Education Board
board,
provided that such authority may not be arbitrarily or unreasonably exercised.
Upon such cancellation by the
State
Medical Education Board
board,
the total uncredited amount of the scholarship paid to the applicant shall at
once become due and payable to the
State
Medical Education Board
board
in cash with interest at the minimum rate of 12 percent per annum from the date
of each payment by the
State
Medical Education Board
board
and compounded annually to the date the scholarship or loan is paid in full.
The State
Medical Education Board
board
is authorized to increase annually such rate of interest, subject to the
limitations set forth in subsection (b) of this Code section.
20-3-515.
It
shall be the duty of the
State
Medical Education Board
board
to make inquiry of such four-year medical schools as it deems proper and make
arrangements, within the limitations as to cost as provided for in Code Section
20-3-513, for the payment of tuition or matriculation fees of enrolled students
granted loans or scholarships by the
State
Medical Education Board
board.
20-3-516.
The
funds necessary for the loans or scholarships provided for by this part and to
administer the terms of this part shall come from funds made available to the
State
Medical Education Board
board
from appropriations to the Department of Community Health for medical
scholarships or other purposes.
The State
Medical Education Board shall be assigned to the Department of Community Health
for administrative purposes only, except that such department shall prepare and
submit the budget for that board in concurrence with that board.
20-3-517.
The
State
Medical Education Board
board
shall make a biennial report to the General Assembly of its activities, loans or
scholarships granted, names of persons to whom granted and the institutions
attended by those receiving the same, the location of the applicants who have
received their education and become licensed to practice medicine within this
state, and where they are practicing, and shall make a full report of all its
expenditures for loans or scholarships and expenses incurred pursuant to this
part.
20-3-518.
It
is the purpose and intent of this part to bring about an adequate supply of
persons licensed to practice medicine in the more sparsely populated areas of
the State of Georgia by increasing the number of medical students from Georgia
in the various medical schools and inducing a sufficient number of the graduates
from medical schools to return to Georgia and practice their profession, thus
affording adequate medical care to the people of Georgia."
SECTION
2.
Chapter
34 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to physicians
for rural areas assistance, is amended by revising Code Section 31-34-2,
relating to the purpose and intent of said chapter, and Code Section 31-34-3,
relating to administration of said chapter by the State Medical Education Board,
as follows:
"31-34-2.
It
is the purpose of this chapter to increase the number of physicians in physician
underserved rural areas of Georgia by making loans to physicians who have
completed their medical education and allowing such loans to be repaid by such
physicians agreeing to practice medicine in such rural areas and by making
grants to hospitals and, as determined by the
State
Medical Education Board
Georgia Board
for Physician Workforce, other health care
entities, local governments, and civic organizations in physician underserved
rural areas of Georgia that agree to provide matching funds to the grant, with
the intent to enhance recruitment efforts in bringing physicians to such areas.
It is the intent of the General Assembly that if funds are available to the
State
Medical Education Board
Georgia Board
for Physician Workforce to make loans,
grants, or scholarships under this chapter or under other applicable state law,
the State
Medical Education Board
Georgia Board
for Physician Workforce shall give
priority to loans and scholarships under Part 6 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of
Title 20 and to loans under Code Section 31-34-4.
31-34-3.
This
chapter shall be administered by the
State
Medical Education Board
Georgia Board
for Physician Workforce, and, as used in
this chapter, the word 'board' means the
State
Medical Education Board
Georgia Board
for Physician Workforce created in Code
Section
20-3-510
49-10-1."
SECTION
3.
Said
chapter is further amended in Code Section 31-34-5, relating to service
cancelable loans, repayment, and determination of physician underserved rural
areas, by revising subsection (c) as follows:
"(c)
In making a determination of physician underserved rural areas of Georgia, the
board shall seek the advice and assistance of the Department of Community
Health, the
Georgia Board for Physician Workforce, the
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service, the Department of Community
Affairs, and such other public or private associations or organizations as the
board determines to be of assistance in making such determinations. Criteria to
determine physician underserved rural areas shall include, but shall not be
limited to, relevant statistical data related to the following:
(1)
The ratio of physicians to population in the area;
(2)
Indications of the health status of the population in the area;
(3)
The poverty level and dependent age groups of the population in the
area;
(4)
Indications of community support for more physicians in the area;
and
(5)
Indications that access to the physician's services is available to every person
in the underserved area regardless of ability to pay."
SECTION
4.
Code
Section 45-7-21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to expense
allowance and travel cost reimbursement for members of certain boards and
commissions, is amended by revising subsection (a) as follows:
"(a)
Each member of the boards and commissions enumerated in this Code section shall
receive the same expense allowance per day as that received by a member of the
General Assembly for each day such member of a board or commission is in
attendance at a meeting of such board or commission, plus reimbursement for
actual transportation costs while traveling by public carrier or the legal
mileage rate for the use of a personal automobile in connection with such
attendance. The expense allowance and reimbursement provided for in this Code
section shall be paid in lieu of any per diem, allowance, or other remuneration
now received by any such member for such attendance. The existing law relative
to any limitation on the number of meeting days and remuneration for service on
committees or subcommittees of any such board or commission shall remain in
effect. The boards and commissions to which this Code section shall be
applicable are as follows:
(1)
State Board of Education;
(2)
State Medical Education Board;
(3)(2)
Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia;
(4)(3)
Board of Corrections;
(5)(4)
Board of Economic Development;
(6)(5)
Board of Natural Resources;
(7)(6)
State Transportation Board;
(8)(7)
Dental Education Board;
(9)(8)
Georgia Student Finance Commission;
(10)(9)
Veterans Service Board;
(11)(10)
Georgia Agricultural Exposition Authority;
(12)(11)
Georgia Board for Physician Workforce;
(13)(12)
Georgia Music Hall of Fame Authority;
(14)(13)
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Authority;
(15)(14)
Georgia Rail Passenger Authority;
(16)(15)
Georgia Tobacco Community Development Board;
(17)(16)
State Board of Technical and Adult Education;
(18)(17)
Civil War Commission; and
(19)(18)
The delegation from the State of Georgia to the Southern Dairy Compact
Commission."
SECTION
5.
Code
Section 48-7-161 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
definitions relative to setoff debt collection for the state, is amended by
revising paragraph (1) as follows:
"(1)
'Claimant agency' means and includes, in the order of priority set forth
below:
(A)
The Department of Human Services and the Department of Behavioral Health and
Developmental Disabilities with respect to collection of debts under Article 1
of Chapter 11 of Title 19, Code Section 49-4-15, and Chapter 9 of Title
37;
(B)
The Georgia Student Finance Authority with respect to the collection of debts
arising under Part 3 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20;
(C)
The Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corporation with respect to the
collection of debts arising under Part 2 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title
20;
(D)
The State
Medical Education Board
Georgia Board
for Physician Workforce with respect to
the collection of debts arising under Part 6 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title
20;
(E)
The Department of Labor with respect to the collection of debts arising under
Code Sections 34-8-254 and 34-8-255 and Article 5 of Chapter 8 of Title 34, with
the exception of Code Sections 34-8-158 through 34-8-161; provided, however,
that the Department of Labor establishes that the debtor has been afforded
required due process rights by such Department of Labor with respect to the debt
and all reasonable collection efforts have been exhausted;
(F)
The Department of Corrections with respect to probation fees arising under Code
Section 42-8-34 and restitution or reparation ordered by a court as a part of
the sentence imposed on a person convicted of a crime who is in the legal
custody of the department;
(G)
The State Board of Pardons and Paroles with respect to restitution imposed on a
person convicted of a crime and subject to the jurisdiction of the board;
and
(H)
The Department of Juvenile Justice with respect to restitution imposed on a
juvenile for a delinquent act which would constitute a crime if committed by an
adult."
SECTION
6.
Chapter
10 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
Georgia Board for Physician Workforce, is amended in Code Section 49-10-1,
relating to creation and composition of said board, expense allowances,
staffing, and advisory committees, by revising paragraph (2) of subsection (a)
as follows:
"(2)
The Georgia Board for Physician Workforce shall be composed of 15 members, all
of whom are residents of this state, as follows:
(A)
Five members shall be primary care
physicians, at
least three of whom shall be from rural
areas;
(B)
Five members shall be physicians who are not primary care
physicians, at
least three of whom shall practice in rural
areas;
(C)
Three members shall be representatives of hospitals which are not teaching
hospitals, with at least
one
two
of those three members being
a
representative of a
representatives
of rural, nonprofit
hospital
hospitals;
(D)
One member shall be a representative from the business community;
(E)
One member shall have no connection with the practice of medicine or the
provision of health care; and
(F)
The physicians on the board shall represent a diversity of medical disciplines,
including, but not limited to, women's health, geriatrics, and children's
health. The board shall represent the gender, racial, and geographical
diversity of the state."
SECTION
7.
Said
chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 49-10-2, relating to purpose
of said board, and Code Section 49-10-3, relating to powers, duties, and
responsibilities of said board, as follows:
"49-10-2.
The
purpose of the board shall be to address the
physician
health
care workforce needs of Georgia
communities through the support and development of medical education programs
and to
increase the number of physicians and health care practitioners practicing in
underserved rural areas.
49-10-3.
The
board shall have the following powers, duties, and
responsibilities:
(1)
To locate and determine specific underserved areas of the state in which unmet
priority needs exist for physicians
and health
care practitioners by monitoring and
evaluating the supply and distribution of physicians
and health
care practitioners by specialty and
geographical location;
(2)
Award service cancelable loans and scholarships pursuant to Part 6 of Article 7
of Chapter 3 of Title 20, Chapter 34 of Title 31, or as otherwise provided by
law;
(2)(3)
To approve and allocate state appropriations for family practice training
programs, including but not limited to fellowships in geriatrics and other areas
of need as may be identified by the board;
(3)(4)
To approve and allocate state appropriations for designated pediatric training
programs;
(4)(5)
To approve and allocate any other state funds appropriated to the Georgia Board
for Physician Workforce to carry out its purposes;
(5)(6)
To coordinate and conduct with other state, federal, and private entities, as
appropriate, activities to increase the number of graduating physicians
and health
care practitioners who remain in Georgia
to practice with an emphasis on medically underserved areas of the
state;
(6)(7)
To apply for grants and to solicit and accept donations, gifts, and
contributions from any source for the purposes of studying or engaging one or
more contractors to study issues relevant to medical education or implementing
initiatives designed to enhance the medical education infrastructure of this
state and to meet the physician
and other
health care practitioners workforce needs
of Georgia communities; and
(7)(8)
To carry out any other functions assigned to the board by general
law."
SECTION
8.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
